Govt set to abolish Sec 57 of ICT act

The government is going to abolish Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology (Amendment) Act, 2013, by enacting a new law named ‘Digital Security Act, 2016’, which has been prepared by the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Division. The draft of the Digital Security Act is likely to be placed at today’s Cabinet meeting, which will be held at the Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, sources in the ICT Division said.
According to the sources, the authorities have annulled Section 57 of the ICT Act at a time when media persons have demanded cancellation of the controversial section as it is in conflict with four Articles of the country’s Constitution and also muzzles the freedom of speech and expression of the media. A writ petition was also filed with the High Court on August 26, challenging the legality of Section 57 of the ICT Act, 2013. Section 57 of the ICT (Amendment) Act, 2013, says if any person deliberately publishes any material in electronic form that causes law and order to deteriorate, prejudices the image of the state or person or causes hurt to religious belief, the offender will be punished for a maximum of 14 years and minimum seven years of imprisonment. It also suggested that the crime be non-bailable. The petition placed before the High Court, challenging the section, noted that the provisions there conflict with Articles 27, 31, 32 and 39 of the Constitution. Under the draft Digital Security Act, if any person deliberately publishes any material in electronic form that causes
law and order to deteriorate, prejudices the image of the state or person or causes to hurt religious belief, the offender will be punished for a maximum of two years of rigorous imprisonment and face a fine of up to Tk. 2 lakh or both. Defamation cases would be tried under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1860. To tackle cyber crimes, the draft of the new law would have provisions for a punishment of maximum 14 years in jail for offenders.
A ‘Cyber Emergency Response Team’ would be formed under the new law.
The state minister for ICT, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, said the proposed law would be enacted to tackle all sorts of digital crimes, known as cyber crimes, in the country. “Cyber attack can damage an entire country—financially, administratively—in every way,” he said.
“We are passing the Digital Security Act in response to three issues: investigating the offences, collecting evidence and bringing the offenders to trial,” he said. Zunaid Ahmed Palak said the proposed law provided for setting up a digital forensic lab. He said the new law was necessary to protect people from false news or information. “After the new law is formulated, it will be possible to ensure trial of cyber criminals,” he added. “It will be an elaborate version of the previously planned law, named ‘Cyber Security Act’, prepared by the ministry,” he said.

Govt set to abolish Sec 57 of ICT act

The government is going to abolish Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology (Amendment) Act, 2013, by enacting a new law named Digital Security Act, 2016, which has been prepared by the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Division. The draft of the Digital Security Act is likely to be placed at todays Cabinet meeting, which will be held at the Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, sources in the ICT Division said. According to the sources, the authorities have annulled Section 57 of the ICT Act at a time when media persons have demanded cancellation of the controversial section as it is in conflict with four Articles of the countrys Constitution and also muzzles the freedom of speech and expression of the media. A writ petition was also filed with the High Court on August 26, challenging the legality of Section 57 of the ICT Act, 2013. Section 57 of the ICT (Amendment) Act, 2013, says if any person deliberately publishes any material in electronic form that causes law and order to deteriorate, prejudices the image of the state or person or causes hurt to religious belief, the offender will be punished for a maximum of 14 years and minimum seven years of imprisonment. It also suggested that the crime be non-bailable. The petition placed before the High Court, challenging the section, noted that the provisions there conflict with Articles 27, 31, 32 and 39 of the Constitution. Under the draft Digital Security Act, if any person deliberately publishes any material in electronic form that causes law and order to deteriorate, prejudices the image of the state or person or causes to hurt religious belief, the offender will be punished for a maximum of two years of rigorous imprisonment and face a fine of up to Tk. 2 lakh or both. Defamation cases would be tried under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1860. To tackle cyber crimes, the draft of the new law would have provisions for a punishment of maximum 14 years in jail for offenders. A Cyber Emergency Response Team would be formed under the new law. The state minister for ICT, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, said the proposed law would be enacted to tackle all sorts of digital crimes, known as cyber crimes, in the country. Cyber attack can damage an entire countryfinancially, administrativelyin every way, he said. We are passing the Digital Security Act in response to three issues: investigating the offences, collecting evidence and bringing the offenders to trial, he said. Zunaid Ahmed Palak said the proposed law provided for setting up a digital forensic lab. He said the new law was necessary to protect people from false news or information. After the new law is formulated, it will be possible to ensure trial of cyber criminals, he added. It will be an elaborate version of the previously planned law, named Cyber Security Act, prepared by the ministry, he said.